William b



W. B. BURTNETT.

Brush Block.

Patented April 30, 1867..

garish tetra strut time.

WILLIAM B. BURTNETT, OF YORK, N. Y. Letters Patent No. 64,195, dated April 30, 1867.

IMPROVED BRUSH-BLOCK.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. BURTNETT, of New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented an improvement in the Manufacture of Brush-Blocks; and'I-do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a view of the improved brush-block with aportion of one side broken away to show the strengthenin g strip.

Figure 2 is a cross-section through the block.

Figure 3 is a cross-section through a block showing the manner of applying the bristles to it.

' Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

Previous to my invention; brush-blocks have been made of very hard wood, with the grain thereof running in a direction at right angles to the handles of the blocks. This was done for the purpose of aii'ording suiiicient strength around the holes which were made in such, blocks for receiving the handles or poles, also to prevent as far as possible the blocks from warping. In attaching the bristles to these heads, the nails all passed through the same line of grain, and consequently acted collectively to split the wood. Subsequently to the use of such blocks, improvements were made and secured by Letters Patent, numbered 45,907, in which the grain of the wood of the blocks runs in line with .the handles, and handle ferrules were attached by slotted straps and screw fastening. This improvement upon the old style of blocks, admitted of their being made lighter, inasmuch as the large holes which were made in their heads were rendered unnecessary by the strap and screw fastenings.

It was however found that the heads would war and s lit. notwithstandin the were made uite thick and v 7 P P r: y l

oi'.very hard wood. The object of'my invention is to construct a brush-block for whitewash and other like brushes, in such manner that it can be made chiefly of light and comparatively soft wood, and yet possess greater strength and durability, and be less liable to warp than brush-blocks hitherto manufactured, as will be hereinafter explained.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand my invention, 1 will describe its construction and operation.

The brush-block which I have represented in the accompanying drawings is made of a tapering or wedge form in cross-section, for the purpose of leaving a very thin edge, a, for receiving on each side oi it the bristles, as shown in fig. 3. This form of head causes the body of bristles on each side to follow the bevel or taper, and thus meet very near the edge a, so that they will support and stiffen each other, and make a thickly set brush. The head I) of the brush-block may be made of any suitable thickness, but I prefer to have such head in a given size of hlocl: somewhat thinner than those hitherto made with holes in them for receiving handles. I make the head of white-wood, or of some other suitable species of wood, which. will possess lightness and strength, with the grain running at right angles to the width of the head, or in lines extending from the head to the thin edge a, as indicated in fig. 1. This is done for the purpose of having each nail pass through a difi'erent grain in nailing on the bristles, and thereby obviating the liability of splitting the block by having all the nails in the same line of grain, as is the case where the grain extends transversely across the block. A narrow slot or kerf is made in the thin edge of the block, by means of a saw or otherwise, and into this kerf a strip, 9, of hard wood is permanently secured by means of glue, or in any other suitable manner: The grain of this hard-wood strip runs at right angles to the grain of the brush-block and thereby prevents the letter from splitting or warping injuriously. The wood of which the blocks are made is grooved and bevelled by means of a circular saw, after whicha hard-wood strip is inserted into the kerf, and the block out off and properly shaped. It will be seen that I combine in the construction of the heads a light and comparatively sift wood for the body of the blocks, with a thin strip of hard wood for strengthening and counteracting the warping of the softer wood. Those who are acquainted with the manufacture of whitewash brushes are aware oi the difficulty of driving the wrought nails into the hard-wood heads in the act of securing on the bristles. By my invention this diflh oulty is removed, as the nails will enter well into the softwood, and receive a firm support before they penetrate the hard-wood strip, consequently they will not be liable to bend in the dot of driving them. The hard-wood strip will also serve as a means of firmly holding in place the nails which cannot be clinched.

I am aware that it is not new to cut away one side of a hard-wood brush-block, the grain of which runs in one direction, and insert in place of the part removed a. strip of wood with the grain running in an opposite direction; this is done merely to secure tl1e brush against warping and splitting; therefore I do not lay claim broadly to a brush-block made of two pieces of wood with the grain running in opposite directions.

Having described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A whitewash-brush block, which is constructed with a strip of wood which is harder than the wood of which the block is made, inserted into akei'f in its lower edge to that the grain of the strip shall run at right angles to the grain of the block, as herein described and shown, thereby producing a. new and improved article of manufacture.

W. B. BURTNETT.

lVitn ess es:

BENJAMIN JAMES Roems, DANIEL AUGUSTAS BURTNETT. 

